RAMALLAH — The Hamas's Ministry of Interior and National Security Saturday started a field exercise for security services in Gaza Strip. The ministry said in a statement that all security services, including police and national security, will participate in the drill that started Saturday morning in Gaza Strip governorates. The ministry did not say when the exercise will end. It added that the act was part of “normal drill” for all the ministry's security services as part of efforts to maintain security and stability in the area and to “increase the level of coordination between the different security services.” In early September, the ministry held a military march for the security services in the area. The development comes days after the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Palestinians in Gaza Strip are facing serious abuses by the Hamas government's security services, including arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, torture, and unfair trials. HRW said in a 43-page report, “Abusive System: Criminal Justice in Gaza,” that it documented “extensive violations by Hamas security services, including arrests without warrant, failure to inform families promptly of detainees' whereabouts, and subjecting detainees to torture. It also documents violations of detainees' rights by prosecutors and courts.” The rights group said it interviewed victims of abuses and their families, lawyers, judges, Palestinian rights groups in Gaza, and reviewed case files and court judgments. “Military courts frequently try civilians, in violation of international law. Prosecutors often deny detainees' access to a lawyer, and courts have failed to uphold detainees' due process rights in cases of warrantless arrest and abusive interrogations,” HRW found. It added that the intra-Palestinian political rivalry remains a significant factor behind many Hamas abuses against detainees in Gaza. The split widened in 2007, when Hamas routed forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, ousted his Fatah party and took over Gaza Strip.
